Fluid Intelligence, Cognitive Reflection, Mathematics Competence Beliefs, and Mathematics Achievement in Secondary School Students
Alicia Rubio-Sánchez, ISABEL GÓMEZ-VEIGA, Inés M. Gómez-Chacón
Source abstract
This study examined the relationships among fluid intelligence, cognitive reflection, syllogistic reasoning, students’ mathematics-related beliefs, and mathematics achievement in secondary school students (N = 165). Participants performed fluid intelligence, cognitive reflection, syllogistic reasoning, and mathematics-related beliefs tests, whereas mathematics achievement was indexed by school grades. Hierarchical regression analyses and path analysis were conducted to investigate the unique contributions of cognitive and beliefs variables and to examine indirect associations through mathematics competence beliefs. Fluid intelligence, cognitive reflection, and mathematics-related beliefs were positively associated with mathematics achievement, whereas syllogistic reasoning did not explain unique variance beyond the remaining predictors. Fluid intelligence emerged as the strongest cognitive predictor of mathematics achievement, whereas mathematics competence beliefs showed the strongest association with achievement in the path model. Path analyses revealed significant indirect associations through competence beliefs for fluid intelligence and cognitive reflection, but not for syllogistic reasoning. Exploratory analyses conducted separately for male and female students showed that, among male students, fluid intelligence was associated with mathematics achievement through a direct association, but no significant indirect relation through competence beliefs was found. Among female students, a significant indirect association between fluid intelligence and mathematics achievement through mathematics competence beliefs was found, while the direct association between fluid intelligence and achievement remained significant. Overall, the findings support integrative perspectives that consider cognitive abilities and students´ mathematics beliefs jointly, and highlight the relevance of competence beliefs for understanding individual differences in curriculum-based mathematics achievement during adolescence.
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